Thursday, May 26, 2016

By now you have probably heard me talk about WIOA. If not, where have you been? This is your chance to get involved and collaborate
with the Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board, Inc. to ensure that the Lehigh
Valley has a private sector driven workforce system.

In 2014, President Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA) providing a framework for states to make changes to
their workforce systems. The federal law
sets parameters to enable better alignment of workforce priorities across
multiple partners, training and service providers, employers and economic
development and community partners, to ensure that together we are creating a
skilled workforce.

Governor Wolf established five broad goals for Pennsylvania’s
workforce development system.
1. Establish career pathways as the primary model for skills, credential and
degree attainment and provide all Pennsylvanians, with an emphasis on Pennsylvanians
with barriers to employment, an opportunity to obtain a job that pays.
2. Expand public-private investment in the state’s pipeline of workers and in
incumbent workers for targeted industry sectors from entry-level skills to
middle skills through Industry Partnerships, WEDnetPA, and other innovative
strategies.
3. Increase opportunities for all youth to participate in work-based learning
through summer employment, pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships, internships
and similar experiences.
4. Engage employers through multi-employer workforce partnerships to improve
the connection and responsiveness of workforce programs to the demand side of
the labor market. Increase public-private investment in critical skills, and
support the spread of employer practices that create jobs that pay.
5. Strengthen data sharing across state agencies and workforce development
partners to better understand education and employment outcomes and rely more
effectively on data to improve our target our efforts.

How does the Lehigh Valley Workforce Development Board respond
to these challenges and goals? Stay tuned! Next month I will present the
results from public comments on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA) Transitional Local Plan for Program Year. This plan presents our vision,
mission, goals, and strategies necessary to support the work of our regional and
state partners.

This plan also outlines many of the programs and initiatives planned
for Lehigh Valley's public workforce system through the services in the PA
CareerLink® Lehigh Valley centers.